Smart Homes: Keeping Connected Through the Intercom

Modern-day systems can be the dashboard for running your entire home

Now that everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket or purse, keeping in touch on an expansive estate has never been easier.

Home intercom systems have always been a wise investment for internal communication and security. But for today’s intercom systems, even with the whims of wireless service in remote locations, crystal-clear communication is a given. And not only that: Modern intercom systems can function as the hub for your entire high-end home, allowing you to manage smart products and call upon external services at the touch of a button.

Offering an elegant design and compatibility with several high-end home product providers, Legrand’s Intuity Home prides itself on form and function.

Intuity Home Automation Command Centerlegrand

Intuity offers multiple levels of security and communication. Users can monitor individual rooms with a network of cameras, address an entire home with an estate-wide audio system and see who’s at the front door, and grant them access, thanks to a video entry intercom.

That’s before all the bells and whistles start.

Intuity users can control multi-room audio, lighting, temperature, digital locks and the garage door, all from a hub unit on the wall (pictured above) or via an app on their smart devices.

Price: Basic packages start at $1,389

Wink Relay Touchscreen Controller

Perhaps the most versatile device on this list, the Wink Relay Touchscreen Controller offers users miniature smart home dashboards to install throughout their property.

Wink Relay Touchscreen ControllerWink

Mirroring the aesthetic and functionality of a phone or tablet, the Wink Relay not only acts as a network-wide intercom system (broadcasting audio to all other installed Relays), but enables touchscreen control over an extensive, and growing, list of intelligent abode products, from lighting and locks to temperature and tunes.

And that’s just the start. Recent firmware updates allow users to order (or cancel) cars via Uber, monitor activity stats tracked by a FitBit device and take advantage of any number of smart home IFTTT recipes, of which we are fans.

The device, which integrates into the wall as seamlessly as a light switch, includes a sensor that can detect an approaching user and active his or her personal dashboard when within range.

Price: $149 for a two-pack bundle, $99 for a single

Nucleus

Nucleus is the purest intercom system we’ve reviewed here. It might also be the most promising.

A Nucleus communication deviceNucleus

Featuring a 120º HD camera and stereo speakers, Nucleus offers video and audio communication between devices, within the home and beyond. With just the touch of a button, users can call upstairs or across the country to a paired Nucleus device or a smartphone running the Nucleus app. No need to ever enter a number.

The portable device, which features a desk stand and can be easily wall-mounted, is also capable of connecting with music services Amazon Prime Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn via Alexa, with more on the horizon.